This beer pours a a deep black with a nice, three finger dark tan head has decent retention but reduces to a brownish film on the top of the beer. Smell is of rich chocolate malts with some decent hopping in the background. Taste is chocolaty with a touch of java and some sugary fruit on the mid-palate - good amount of complexity. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, has just a touch of tingly carbonation and a creamy, but quite dry finish. I was very pleased with this beer. I think it has a lot of different flavours to offer and makes a great cold day beer. I would definitely buy it again.

355ml bottle. Picked up a single of this "Black Beast", thinking I needed to try some other Paddock Wood offerings beyond the 606 IPA.

The beer pours, as advertised, an inky black; held up to the light, it exhibits some subtle basal cola streaks, and makes the two eyes on my Alley Kat pint glass practically glow in comparison. There are a few fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and eventually creamy pale brown head, which melts away rather slowly, leaving some bleeding sandstone arch lacing around the glass.

The smell - the smell is mouth-watering (nose-watering? Nah) - lots of bittersweet chocolate, roasted caramel malt, milky coffee, and some faint earthy, herbal hops. The flavour has less chocolate, and more of the toasted caramel malt, with some additional toffee sweetness, steady bitter coffee notes, a touch of cola syrup, and very little earthy hoppiness.

What got me from the get-go is the weight of this beer - it's much heavier than I'd been led to believe; chewy; this sensation is lessened somewhat by the soft carbonation, which distracts a bit from the otherwise luxuriant, creamy mouthfeel. It finishes well off-dry, the cocoa and caramel ebbing somewhat, and the alcohol exposing itself a bit as things warm up.

A pleasantly plump oatmeal stout, the sweetness factor making for quite a decent sipper on a cold late fall evening. I'm gonna have to get more of this next time.

Pours an inky black, nearly opaque colour with a 1/4 inch of head, even off a hard pour. The minimal head recedes quickly and leaves just a little wet lace. Not much in the way of retention, just a few bubbles. Carbonation seems minimal. Aroma is lightly sweet with a bit of molasses, chocolate, nuts, some generic juicy fruitiness, cocoa, and roasted coffee bitterness. Great aroma.

Taste starts out rich with tons of milk chocolate flavour. There's some lactic sourness and tons of roasted coffee. A little brown sugar and herbal hops in the background. Simple but well balanced and very flavourful. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a mild carbonation, herbal finish and nice dryness. This is a great flavourful session brew, smooth and keeps you sipping.

Bottle courtesy of CBA: Poured a deep black color stout with a nice light brown foamy head with good retention. Aroma of coffee and light roasted malt is quite enticing. Taste is dry with some light bitter notes from the coffee and roasted malt. Body is quite full for the style with some generous carbonation. Very well done overall and a beer that I wouldnt mind having another glass of.

Jet black with a big nice head. This is real big tasting beer that comes on like a tasty porter. There is a bright finish to this beer with a roasted malt flavour on the tongue. Impressive beer from this brewery and I hope to try more of there beers soon

Part of the Paddock Wood "Big Box O Beer" mixer packA - pitch black with one finger of tan head that dissipated to a few random islandsS - molasses and chocolate, sweet licorice burnt grainsT - cocoa and molasses burnt malt, subtle milky oatmeal, and bitter tobacco and coffee bean finishM - chewy with a somewhat surprising amount of carbonation, finishing a little dry and bitterD - a nice offering with a focus on burnt and bitter flavours, not a session beer IMO, but fairly easy drinking

A nice sound of a lively brew as i opened this one. Gave me a big, loose head on a regular pour, quickly subsided to give a much smaller, and tighter head much like espresso crema. Already some sticky gobs of lace.

Wow, wasnt overly impressed with the nose, but this brew really opened up and reveals its true character and flavours upon tasting. Espresso flavoured roasted malts that give way to smooth cocoa meet creamy oatmeal, the estery character is much less pronounced, a hint of caramel segues into a touch of anise and leafy hops which give way to a smoky and very slightly acrid roastiness. Good stuff.

A nice feel to this brew. Medium bodied, somewhat lively with a persistent, finely bubbling carbonation. Somewhat smooth and creamy, though not quite velvety from the oats.

A very drinkable and rich and tasty brew from my hometown. Would make for a great session brew on a -40 saskatoon midwinter's night. Also a tasty brew to sample here and there throughout the year. A solid oatmeal stout, and well worth trying for fans of the style, definitely recommended. This sample was cellared for approx 9 months.

Aroma reminds me of fresh baked chocolate oatmeal cookies, I just wish it was a little stonger.

Taste is magnificent. Big roasty flavours upfront, smooth malt and oatmeal with a hint of sweetness in the middle, and a trace of hop bitterness at the end.

Mouthfeel is thick and smooth thanks to the oatmeal, it really helps to carry the flavours. Carbonation is low which is just right.

Drinkability is high. The alcohol level is average with tons of flavour. What more do you want?

A very enjoyable brew. This was my first taste of it in bottle form after enjoying it several times on tap. This beer deserves a wider audience. I would love to do a side by side tasting with St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, I think it would definitely hold its own.

Bete Noire is from a local micro brewery in town so I felt compelled to buy it again to write a review. My benchmark for these types of stouts is St. Ambroise, though not perfect, I've yet to find a perfect beer as I'd likely be enjoying it too much to write a decent review. I will say, most of Paddock Wood's products are good and definitely worth a try.

Appearance: Pretty good, little bit lighter in color than the benchmark, pours an initial light brown fluffy head that dissipates pretty fast. Lacing is good throughout an entire drink.

Smell: A tad bitter, with Coffee and Brown Sugar tones. Obviously a roasted smell to it as well.

Taste: Likely its strongest side, and in my mind most important. Nice coffee tones and the blackstrap molasses (dark, dark) taste is there and I absolutely love it! It has a bitter bite at the end.

Mouth feel: it's smooth, but thin compared to other stouts, it definitely doesn't 'stick' to your mouth like some stouts. I personally would like a bit more mouth feel, but it's not a deterrent to not get this product.

Drink: good, I love dark stouts so I could drink this anytime and enjoy it.

Smells a bit like fish oil and soy sauce...molasses and smoked oysters. A bit woody and charred.

Thick and sticky with average carbonation. Dry with a bold but soft roasted flavour, smoky...woody and rich. A bit tart at first but mellows out nicely with a light black licorice in the finish. Could use another element in the flavour.

I sort of like this one and it delivers, but not the best out there. Decent offer by Paddock Wood.

Aroma: wow! Dark fruits and double fudge with a wisp of grass....nice;

Profile is a bit of a letdown from the aroma. Rather a weak body for an oatmeal stout, but the malts in the front side are toasty-roast with coffee and bitter cocoa tastes then the finish goes dry with astringency from charred grain hulls and the hopping...very metallic lingering bitterness.

A very good approximation of a London stout although a tad thin for an Oatmeal stout, it is very decent.